Friends on the other side of the Dog Park
by Tobichanlissesul
Summary: Upon visiting the strange desert community of Night vale, The Doctor finds himself helping his new friend Cecil out in getting life-sustaining supplies to the lost intern in the Dog Park.


The Doctor had been in Night vale for two weeks now. He was alone at the time, so he didn't feel too bad about staying in one place for so long. Really, time was irrelevant to him, so most mornings, he strolled out of the TARDIS thinking; I'll leave this afternoon, only to stay the night again and again. Of course, being and outsider, he had taken it upon himself to meet some of the town's most prominent figures. The Doctor paid his respects to Mayor Pamela Winchell, Newspaper editor Leeann heart, John Peters, you know, The Famer? Old Woman Josie, and of course, he had been told he simply had to meet Cecil, Cecil Palmer, the infamous radio broadcaster in Night vale

He met Cecil on a Tuesday, or at least he thought it might have been a Tuesday. For as irrelevant as time was to the Doctor, it seemed just as irrelevant to the rest of Night vale, so he felt perfectly at home. Cecil, of course, piqued the Doctor's interest. He was a uniquely featured man, not tall, or short, or thin, or fat. He wore a tie, and his deep, resonant voice vibrated through his very bones. During a rather peculiar weather section Cecil stopped to talk to the Doctor about Night vale, about its citizens, about his show, and then conversation turned to a particularly perfect, dark-skinned scientist. They talked for some time about Cecil's crush, as the radio host couldn't seem to stop, before his phone began to beep, a text message coming through.

"Hhmm?" Cecil glanced down from his conversation with the newcomer, pulling his rectangular phone out of the pocket of his dark purple slacks. The smooth, simple device lay in his hand, warm from resting so close to his skin. "Oh!" He murmured, his thumb sliding along the phone's edge as he read the text.

"From a friend?" The Doctor asked curiously, clasping his hands behind him and leaning forward, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet, a smile playing on his lips.

"Yes," Cecil replied simply, still a little bit distracted, his gaze locked on the phone.

"Brilliant, Same friend we were uh…discussing earlier?" The time lord pressed good-naturedly, a playfully teasing look on his impossibly ancient, impossibly childish face. Cecil glanced up, smiling at him, but it was a sad smile, a smile lined with concern.

"No, It's not from Carlos…It's from…a very dear friend of mine…" After a moments silence, Cecil realized the Doctor was still waiting for him. "Dana," He continued, "Her name is Dana. She was an intern here, but a few months ago during our town's annual Poetry Week she was…lost." The goofy, childish smile faded from the Doctor's face as he saw the obvious concern that Cecil felt for the former intern, the sadness at the loss of a friend. He didn't understand it fully though, Dana must be alive as she had just texted the radio host, but Cecil's somber expression portrayed quite clearly that he didn't expect he would ever see his friend again.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor said quietly, "I'm so sorry…What happened to her?" He ventured, not sure how well Cecil would react to the question.

"She entered the forbidden Dog Park, she and a few other citizens…I shouldn't have ever let her leave the station, I should have know something would happen to her, flood, tornado, librarian attack, 12 foot rat-zebras…" The Doctor didn't bother to mention that they were in the dessert, and flood seemed about as unlikely as 12 foot rat-zebras, but he'd seen stranger things in his life time, and many of them had been right here in Night vale over the past two weeks. He had been warned about this 'Dog Park,' he had been told not to enter it, and he wasn't sure what fate awaited the people who had.

"I'm sorry," He said again, his eyes lowered and Cecil granted him a small smile to assure him that he was alright. The two slipped into an uncertain silence, before Cecil seized on another thread of conversation.

"Uh, Dana texts that 'She's hungry,'" He said, slipping into his reporter tone once more, and looking back to the message. "And that 'she wonders if I might try and throw some more food over the wall. Dana said that all that made it over the wall last time was a half-empty bag of corn crisps, two cucumbers and the carcass of a cat…I don't remember throwing that over…" He mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

The Doctor, as fitting with the whole of the rest of his life, couldn't stand to see someone, however vague an acquaintance, hungry, or in pain. The lanky man rose to his feet, stopping a moment to adjust his bowtie, before meeting Cecil's gaze. "I reckon I could pop over and drop off some supplies for your friend I you like," He offered, not know what fate may await him if he entered the Dog Park. Cecil shook his head grimly.

"No use, the gates have disappeared entirely, no one can get in, or out." The Doctor paused, taking in this information, before nodding slowly to himself.

"Right then, in take case I won't be more than a minute."

The first sign that the Dog Park really was as dangerous as everyone seemed to think it was, was that the TARDIS, initially, refused to land. It took several tries and a lot of sweet talking before the sentient time machine would set to rest on the spongy dead moss that carpeted the Dog Park. Regardless of the impenetrable mist, the dead vegetation, and the stink or rotting flesh, the Doctor greeted it like he greeted every planet he stepped foot on, with wonder.

"Blimey!" He murmured to no one in particular, "Look at that fog! Can't see a foot in front of your face out here!" Squinting through his round rimmed glasses, picnic basket hanging from his arm, the Time Lord venture out into the mist.

The sponge squished soggily under his feet as he walk, something's that felt less like bits of stick and more like bits of bone occasionally crunching underfoot. A shiver passed through his body, cold prickling along his spine as something with a translucent black cape drifted through the mist, in, and then quickly out of view. "Dana?" He ventured, not calling too loudly in case the black-cloaked _thing_ was not friendly. Again, "Dana?" no response. The Doctor's breath crystallized in the air in front of his face, a chilling wind, for a moment, disturbing the fog. For as much as new places, new creature, and new planets fascinated him, the Doctor felt he would be happier far away from here.

An hour, and then two hours produced no sign of Dana. The Doctor felt as though he hadn't moved at all. Same squishy ground, same fog, same bits of bone cracking underfoot. But the TARDIS was out of sight. "Dana," He called again, a little half-hearted by this point as he continued to trudge, staying close to the perfectly smooth, impossibly high, Onyx stone wall. He had just opened his mouth to call again when an answer came, invisible to him through the mist.

"Hello?" The call was tentative, and weak, but audible none the less. "Hello? Who's there!" It demanded, rising in strength and confidence. The look of elation that fill the Doctor's face was pure happiness, Pure excitement that he had found the lost friend.

"Hello!" He called eagerly, "I'm the Doctor, here to help, that's me!" He said, raising the picnic basket, although the speaker was still invisible to him.

Slowly, though the thick and stinking fog, a figure began to emerge. She was short, and dirty, with torn jeans and a soiled purple t-shirt, but her face was a vision of loveliness in the foul Dog Park. Her smooth, dark brown skin was smeared with grayish mud, her tightly curled mass of black hair knotted and mussed. The intern's deep, almost black eyes were wide with suspicion, and her full lips were drawn into a tight line. Clutched in both hands, the young woman wielded a broken, wickedly splintered club of wood, held back, ready to strike.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor," He repeated, in case she hadn't heard him the first time. Slowly the club began to lower, although the Interns eyes were still dark with suspicion. A hundred things raced through the Doctor's mind of things to say to her, sooth her, comfort, and reassure her, make her trust him, but he decided to cut right down to the essentials. "Cecil sent me. Hungry?" The dirty, exhausted, frightened intern's jaw dropped and she stared at the stranger, blinking in surprise as he pulled a blanket out of the top of his basket and laid it out on the moss. "Come on then, have a seat." He invited, sitting down on the far end of the blanket. The wickedly splintered club lowered to her side as the stunned young woman walked to the edge of the blanket.

"Cecil sent you?" She asked, her voice husky and uncertain, but at the prospect of food, she sat down none the less. The doctor nodded with a warm, genuine smile, beginning to unpack the food he had brought with him from the TARDIS's massive kitchen. Some of it was easily recognizable, turkey sandwiches, bread, and rice, other items were more foreign. Casseroles leftover from meals on other planets, a cooked tentacle from and alien squid, but it was nothing more unusual than some of the foods he had eaten here in Night vale.

Dana eagerly seized a large chunk of ham, ravenously biting into it, her gaze dropped to the food as she ate. After a long time, and several sandwiched later, Dana finally slowed to a stop, breathing heavily. The Doctor had been silent the entire time, just watching, smiling, and passing food. "Better?" He asked, finally picking up a banana for himself and pulling the peel off of it. The young woman nodded, low looking a little bit embarrassed.

"Thank you," She said, looking up at him, her voice high and a little bit raspy. She cleared her throat uncertainly, offering a small smile. "You said…Cecil sent you…"

"That's right," The Doctor said, beaming. "Stopped in to meet the famous Cecil Palmer, he's quite the household name around here," He added, which got a small giggle from Dana. "and, we got talking about you after he got your text." The interns face lit up.

"He's been getting those? It's been so long since he's been able to get anything to me that I thought…I thought maybe they weren't getting through or that…That maybe he'd forgotten me…"

"No," The Doctor said softly, scooting closer, and taking a chance by gently laying his hand over hers. Dana responded fairly positively, glancing down at her strange food-bearer's hand before looking up at him again. "Cecil hasn't forgotten you, you should hear the way he talks about you, you're his best friend!" Dana laughed softly, ducking her head.

"I know," She said quietly, "I just worry about him, even though he's out there, relatively safe, and I'm in here, not safe at all." Dana murmured, sliding her hand out from under his and drawing her knees close to herself.

"Well don't worry, because I'm going to get you out."

It had taken the Doctor two hours to reach the point here he had found Dana but it must have been four by the time the two unlikely companions reached the TARDIS. Frankly, the Doctor had begun to panic. In this strange, foggy, eerie world of the Dog Park, he got the feeling that anything could happen, including the disappearance of his beloved TARDIS. When they finally arrived, the Doctor wasted no time in throwing open the double doors and sweeping the intern inside, waiting for the inevitable gasp of surprise. But Dana simply stepped in, smiling around casually as though admiring the décor of a friend home.

"Oh go on," The Doctor prompted, beaming. Dana looked up, confused

"Go on?" She questioned

"Go on say it; it's bigger on the inside." To this, Dana simply nodded, and the Doctor blinked, confused.

"Rita Marks, she lives out by John Peters, you know, the farmer? She has a kitchen cupboard that's bigger on the inside too, although hers is full of spider-wolves, it's impractical, really, considering she has children."

"The cupboard?"

"The spider-wolves!"

The Doctor shook his head, laughing, unable to believe this strange place where bigger-on-the-inside things and spider-wolves were commonplace.

"Well, let's not waste any time hmm? We've got to get you back home." A smile bloomed on the intern's features, as she rested her weight back on the railing of the TARDIS.

"Home…" She whispered softly, her eyes becoming distant, her expression soft. "I can talk to Cecil again…see my family…Sleep in a bed!" She said, her voice suddenly picking up to a shriek of delight as she launched away from the railing, bounding around the consol in unbridled delight. A wild giggle escaped her lips, Dana running her fingers through her mass of curly black hair. "Alright!" She said breathlessly, holding out her hands to steady herself. "I'm ready."

"Right, off we pop." The Doctor replied, beaming at the young woman who was so excited to finally be free of this wrenched place. The time lord raised his eyebrows at her in a 'get a load of this' kind of expression as he flipped a switch, the TARDIS beginning to moan and wheeze.

Abruptly, the TARDIS shuddered, and thunked, a bit of steam curling from the consol.

"What? No!" The Doctor cried in dismay, wrinkling his nose and dropping to his stomach, checking 'under the hood.' A look of concern flickered across Dana's face and the Doctor waved a hand at her, trying to put her concern to rest. "It's fine! It's fine, she's just being…uhg…temperamental….She doesn't want to take off, but she didn't want to land either. It's fine," He assured her again. Dana nodded, but didn't look too sure

Twenty minute, and god knows how many tries later, the TARDIS still refused to launch, and the Doctor was running out of ideas. He had tried everything he could think to do, and still nothing. Even with the comfort and size of the TARDIS, the idea of having to stay in the Dog Park was daunting. All this time, Dana had sat quietly to the side, wishing she could help, but she was a radio station intern, not an expert on time machines.

"Dana…" The Doctor said quietly, a disheartening realization striking him.

"Yes?" The intern ventured, standing to her feet and brushing the dirt off of her jeans.

"Would you step outside for a moment…I need to try something." Without any more information that that, Dana could already see where he was going with this, and her heart sunk. The girl swallowed hard, trying not to let herself be too upset.

"Sure…" She responded half heartedly, stepping out of the safety of the TARDIS and back into the damp, cold, unforgiving Dog Park.

Once Dana had stepped outside of the TARDIS, the doctor reached over, taking hold of the large switch he had tried the first time. He half hoped that the TARDIS would remain stuck, that she was refusing to take off for some other reason. Despite his hopes though, the TARDIS made its standard wheezing groan, and took off, disappearing from the Dog Park. Once she landed on the other side of the tall obsidian wall, the Doctor stuck his head out, his hearts sinking as he realized that he was, indeed, parked on Night vale's comfortable main street. The TARDIS could not leave the Dog Park with Dana inside.

_'He wouldn't just leave me…'_ Dana thought to herself, certain of it. _'He would at least come back to explain it...Maybe his time machine is just invisible when it's trying to take off…' _Tears trembled on the verge of her lower lids as she came to the conclusion that, weather the Doctor was coming back or not, she would not be leaving the Dog Park after all.

It took several minutes of finagling to get the TARDIS to land again, and even after it had, the Doctor stood at the consol, not wanting to step out. He liked Dana, he had never wanted to hurt her, and now he had given her hope only to snatch it away again a mere few minute later. Slowly, the Time Lord forced himself to the door, opening it on the misty world of the Dog Park.

"You're back…" Dana said softly, but the hope had already gone out of her voice. The Doctor forced a grim smile and stepped over to her, gently taking the girl's hands "Don't." Dana said simply, and, confused, the Doctor let go. "No," She corrected, "Don't say anything…I know…" Pity filled the Doctor's expression and he reached out, tenderly brushing her hair away from her face.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, his hearts breaking for the young woman. She granted him a half-hearted smile before pulling back from his hand and drawing in a deep breath.

"It's fine." She responded, hardening herself against the bitter disappointment. "I'll be fine."

"I'm going to help you." The Doctor insisted but Dana was shaking her head already.

"You can't. You can't get me out, I understand, just go!" The Doctor closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You're right, I _can't _get you out. But that doesn't mean I won't help you."

For the Doctor, it was all of time, but for Dana, it was only ever one week between the times when she would hear the TARDIS wheezing not far away. Even though he couldn't offer her all of time and space, or even a lift home, she looked forward to his company. She looked forward to the food, supplies, and warm clothing he brought her. She looked forward to the news from Night Vale, from her family, from Cecil. The Doctor had even tried to bring Cecil to her one day, bringing the Radio host into the TARDIS with him and trying to bring him to see his friend. But the TARDIS was as stubborn on taking Cecil into the Dog Park as she had been on taking Dana out, so they made do with written messages that the Doctor helped them pass back and forth.

One afternoon, the Doctor and Dana sat on the floor of the TARDIS consol room, sharing a picnic and talking as they did every week.

"I've been running into some of the other citizen who were trapped her with me recently," Dana said around a mouthful of hot rice. "I've been trying to share some of the supplies you've given me, but some of them…well think some of them have gone mad…It must be the Dog Park," She elaborated, scooping in another mouthful. "It's doing something to them, and as much as I want to help, I'm afraid they'll hurt me." The Doctor nodded sympathetically as Dana went on. "I don't think I've ever even ran into the same person twice except for you and…" The Doctor raised an eyebrow, leaning forward a little bit.

"And?" He pressed curious now. Dana didn't look like whoever came after the 'and' concerned her. She almost looked…flustered.

"Well, "She continued awkwardly, her cheeks heating up a little. "There's…a man…"

"A man?" The Doctor asked, a smirk touching his lips as he saw where this was going. "Brilliant, what's his name?"

"I don't know." Dana admitted, feeling a little foolish. The Doctor could see she was blushing, that much she knew, yet here she was saying that she didn't even know his name. "He uh..." She cleared her throat uncertainly. "He wears a tan jacket…and carries a deer-skin leather suit case...We've gotten to be good friend…the only problem is…as soon as he or I leaves…I don't remember hardly anything about him…just the jacket, and the suitcase…" The intern said, looking down with a thoughtful frown. "I never remember much of our conversations…but…I think he's important to me." Dana gave a frustrated moan, dropping her head between her knees. "I wish I could remember…"

The Doctor bit the tip of his tongue, shifting uncertainly. He had been nervous at first at Dana's description of this man. The only other creature he knew in all of time and space who had the ability to make the second party forget them the minute they looked away was the Silence. But the more he thought about it, the more he was sure it couldn't be. Dana had said she could hardly remember anything about him, not that she had forgotten him totally. It that had been the case, they never would have had this conversation to begin with. Besides, to his knowledge, the Doctor had never seen a Silence wearing anything other than the fitted black suits. No tan jacket, no deer-skin leather suit case. This man was something different.

"I uh…I think I may have something that can help you" Dana looked up, confused. But after all that she had learned of the Doctor she had gotten used to his surprises.

"You think so?" She asked, pulling herself to her feet, the half eaten bowl of rice forgotten. The Doctor beamed at the intern, bounding to his feet and circling down the stairs under the TARDIS consol.  
"Yep, just give us a mo' I'll be right back up." He called to her, and the dark-skinned young woman, leaned over the railing, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was doing, but was only greeted by the sound of rattling and clanging. A minute later, her friend reemerged, a small device clutched triumphantly in his hands. "Here we go! Take this!" He thrust it into her hands, leaving her staring, confused.

"Doctor…What is it?" Dana turned the device over in her hands. It was a cylinder, about the size of a toilet paper tube, covered in turning gears and tiny, delicate cogs that she had to be watchful not to get her fingers caught in.

"It's a memory stabilizing, trans-dimensional, w- eh…." He trailed off, seeing the blank look on her face, before shifting awkwardly and muttering something 'timey-wimey' and try again. "I've been working on this little gizmo for a while now. You see, I've got this little problem with a particular kind of monster that you can't remember unless you're looking at them. So I've built this little gem, it's supposed to help stabilize and re-"The Doctor curbed his desire to go off on a lengthy explanation of how it worked. "If you have it on you, you should remember this friend of yours after you've gone your separate ways." He finally finished.

Dana stared down at the gift she had been given, a soft laugh escaping her. "I-I can't take this," She stammered, looking a little over whelmed.

"Of course you can." The Doctor countered immediately. The device had been difficult to build, it had taken a lot of expensive, rare parts, but the Doctor didn't hesitate to give it to the intern. Because despite everything he was doing to try and help her, he couldn't forget the guilt of having to leave this wonderful, kind, intelligent, and resourceful young woman behind time after time, especially after having given her a hope for escape only to be unable to follow through.

Dana clutched the gift to her chest, the bright, luminous smile that lit her face enough to make the Doctor forget his guilt, even if just for a moment. "Thank you!" She cried, throwing her arms around his neck and holding the Time Lord in a tight hug for several long moments. He pulled back slowly, gently tweaking her nose.

"Go on then, go find that man in the tan jacket and give it a try." He encouraged, and Dana turned quickly on her heel, running out of the TARDIS door and disappearing into the mist, but not before yelling a final goodbye to him.

The next time that the Doctor when to take food and supplies to his friend in the Dog Park, Dana was gone.


End file.
